Election 2023 - Getting Candid: Agnes Loheni, National Party list candidate

Welcome to Getting Candid, our political candidate series highlighting the Pacific politicians running in Election 2023.

Basic bio info:

What's your age? 51

Which suburb do you live in? Titirangi

How many children do you have? Five

What's your ethnic background? Samoan

What made you want to get into politics?
I grew up in a crowded state house in Mt Albert with my Samoan immigrant parents, siblings and extended family. Although we didn’t have much money we were rich in family, culture, faith and hope with the opportunities that came through a job and a good education. My parents taught me to show compassion for others. I completed a degree in Chemical Engineering, built a successful small family business whilst raising my five children. I got into politics because I started to see a growing narrative around personal responsibility, identity and poverty that conflicted with what I experienced growing up. There is nothing compassionate about locking people into a cycle of poverty. Nothing compassionate about locking people into generational welfare. I got into politics because I care about our young people and want them have opportunities so they can lead fulfilling and purposeful lives.

What's your plan or strategy to win a seat?

My strategy is to get as many people to Party Vote National. This will be by engaging as many voters as possible on the National Party policies through door knocking, public meetings, community events, phone calling & social media.

Who inspires you?

My dad Fepuleai Loheni migrated from Samoa to NZ in the mid 1960s on a boat when he was only 14 years old. He was travelling with his brother who was only a year older and their two younger sisters. They slept on the deck with other passengers and the trip took over a week. My dad inspires me because he’s lived a life fully devoted to providing for his family. He would travel where ever he needed to find work. To this day I am overwhelmed with gratitude for his sacrifice, quiet humility and hard work to ensure that my three sisters and I had the best educational opportunities which he saw was the key to prosperity.

What are the key issues facing people in your area?

Cost of living pressures are the main issue we are hearing whether it’s our door knocking or just talking to people on the street. Alongside this many small business owners are deeply concerned about their personal safety and the safety of their property. Another common issue we are hearing is the state of our health services, in particular long waiting times at hospitals and delays in medical treatments

What's your favourite place to eat or get a drink in your area?

I currently live in West Auckland (New Lynn/Titirangi). Hard to pick one but some local faves are ‘Raag’ and ‘Iti’

What's your message to the voters in your electorate or those that you're targeting for the party vote?

New Zealand is in a recession. Its real and the increasing cost of living isn’t just about food and rent. It’s creating stress and strain in our families, our community, businesses and livelihoods. Alarming numbers of our children are not meeting minimum requirements Ram raids and the growth in gang numbers is seriously scary. Our health services are struggling to keep up with demand.

These issues are not going to get better under another Labour Government – they’ll get worse.

We need to make a change. A National government under the leadership of Christopher Luxon has a plan to tackle inflation, get the economy working for us again give you back more of the money your earn. National will prioritise getting our kids back to school and teaching them the basics they need to know. National will crack down on gangs and serious youth offenders so we can start to feel safer in our homes, businesses and communities.